Israeli army strikes killed 22 people in Beirut, in the deadliest attack in the city center since recent hostilities broke out, while the UN said its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon were in increasing danger.
The last one missile attack of Israel hit a densely populated neighborhood of apartment buildings and small shops in the heart of the Lebanese capital. Israel had not previously struck the area, which is far from the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah’s headquarters have been repeatedly bombed in recent weeks.
Israel’s goal
The target of Thursday’s strikes was reportedly Wafik Safahead of Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination unit that works with Lebanese security services, but survived, the agency reports Reutersciting secure sources.
Israel had warned of the attack
The Israeli military issued a new evacuation warning Thursday night for Beirut’s southern suburbs, including specific buildings. Earlier in the day, Israel warned Lebanese citizens that to avoid fighting they should not return to their homes in the south. He did not make any announcement after the attack.
22 dead and 117 injured in Beirut
Casualties in central Beirut on Thursday night mounted quickly – the Lebanese health ministry reported 22 dead and 117 wounded. Among the dead was a family of eight with children who had moved away from the south, according to a security source.
UN peacekeepers in danger
The deadly attack came as a UN official told the Security Council that the safety of the more than 10,400 UN peacekeepers in Lebanon was “increasingly at risk” and that their operations had effectively ground to a halt since late September, as the escalation of Israel’s action against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Dead UN peacekeeper
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said Unifil had decided to temporarily move about 300 peacekeepers to larger bases for their safety and that one contractor had already been killed.
Serious violation of international law
As stated by Guardianthese statements came after the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon announced that Israeli forces had deliberately fired at its positions, injuring two peacekeepers. Unifil called the attacks on peacekeepers “a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.
The White House is worried
THE White House stated that the US is deeply concerned about these reports against UN peacekeepers and is pressing Israel for details. For its part, Israel’s military said its troops were operating in the Naqoura area, “next to a Unifil base.” “Consequently, the IDF ordered the UN forces in the area to remain in protected areas and immediately thereafter their forces opened fire in the area,” the Israeli statement said, adding that it maintains routine communication with Unifil.
On the blue line are the UN peacekeepers
The “peacekeepers” were determined to remain in their posts despite Israeli attacks and orders from the Israeli army to withdraw, said UN force spokeswoman Andrea Tenenti. Its 50 contributing countries had agreed on Thursday to continue deploying more than 10,000 peacekeepers between the Litani River in the north and the UN-recognized border between Lebanon and Israel, known as the Blue Line, in the south.
“We are there because the Security Council [του ΟΗΕ] he asked us to be there. So we stay until the situation becomes impossible for us to operate,” Tennedy said.
In New York, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danonsaid Israel is recommending Unifil move 5 kilometers north “to avoid danger as fighting intensifies”.
The Middle East remains on alert for further escalation in the region, awaiting Israel’s response to the Iranian missile attack on October 1.
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